Controversy dogs Maria Sereno, Philippines' first female Chief Justice

With her thick provincial accent, Maria Lourdes Sereno had to battle detractors at university. Now, after becoming the Philippines' first female chief justice, Sereno has a fight on her hands once again, with her landmark appointment overshadowed by signs of a divided court and damaging leaks to the media.

Sereno was plucked from obscurity in 2010, when President Benigno Aquino appointed her Supreme Court associate justice. Then last month, after Chief Justice Renato Corona was sacked amid controversy, Sereno, 52, was chosen as his replacement, making her the second youngest appointee.

Far from being lauded as a significant milestone, Sereno's appointment is already facing opposition.

Sereno was joined by only five associate justices at her first flag-raising ceremony last week. Local media viewed the absence of her eight other colleagues as a snub, and confirmation that she leads a divided court. Sereno is the only magistrate not appointed by ex-president Gloria Arroyo.

She is now facing her first major test after Thursday's motion by the husband of former president Arroyo, Jose Miguel Arroyo, to bar Sereno from taking part in hearing a case involving him and the former president.

Arroyo's lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, accused Sereno of bias, noting her "propensity for voting in favour of the [Aquino] administration" in at least five cases.